Chickenhawk

Chickenhawk

Robert Mason

A precise tale from the battlefield that faithfully portrays the horror, the insanity, and the trauma of the Vietnam War

More than part one million copies of Chickenhawk were offered because it was once first released in 1983. Now with a brand new afterword through the writer and pictures taken by means of him in the course of the clash, this straight-from-the-shoulder account tells the electrifying fact concerning the helicopter warfare in Vietnam. this can be Robert Mason’s striking own tale of fellows at warfare. A veteran of multiple thousand wrestle missions, Mason provides remarkable descriptions that lower to the guts of the strive against event: the phobia and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging insanity, the lasting friendships and surprising death—the severe feelings of a "chickenhawk" in consistent threat.

Boss being unloaded. He filmed Gary and me within the cockpit, then placed the digital camera down and gave us a salute. I nodded, introduced the rotors as much as working, and leapt off the pad. As I flew again to retrieve the empty thermos boxes we left with the grunts, I recalled the cameraman’s salute and felt somewhat heroic. once we close down that evening, Sky King confirmed me the creases and nicks within the rotors and scolded me. “Look at this. You’ve ruined them.” “Naw. They’re tremendous. simply creased is all. No.

Had collapsed. timber and PSP lay at strange angles, with sodden sandbags drooping between them. not anything rose greater than toes excessive within the jumbled wreckage. “Goddamn it.” Shaker stalked away. “Maybe we should’ve made the partitions thicker,” Resler acknowledged. virtually every body within the corporation sweated in heavy actual hard work each day. New tents have been manage. Their man wires blocked our makeshift trails. the corporate street was once comprehensive. We have been trenching round tents and hacking and digging the stumps at the.

hearth going into the LZ. A mile prior to us, the 1st team used to be going over the strategy finish of the LZ and disappearing into the smoke. Now the radios got here alive with the pilots’ calling in the place the fireplace used to be coming from. The gunners on the entire ships might pay attention this. in most cases it used to be useful, yet this time, with the friendlies at the floor, they can now not fireplace again. Yellow and White have been at the floor too lengthy. The artillery nonetheless pounded. The massif in the back of the LZ was once thoroughly obscured via the.

Shook his head, maintaining again tears. “Remember how Richards consistently bragged approximately how he knew he’d live to tell the tale within the jungle if he bought shot down? Shit, he even went to jungle university in Panama. If anybody’d be ready to escape, it’d be Richards.” Nate’s tale hit not easy. I remembered Richards and his jungle-school patch. tremendous deal, jungle specialist. you were given 100 toes in your one vast likelihood to steer clear of the enemy. All that education down the drain. the idea of his losing all that education introduced tears to.

Yellow One’s radios have been shot out, and he were attempting to hand-signal Yellow to take over, yet Yellow simply him as he attempted to wreck away. less than us, the villagers have been having a picnic, capturing at loads of helicopters flying low and sluggish. At one village I observed fifty humans simply status round, their arms protective their eyes from the sunlight, looking at the exhibit. someone down there has been taking pictures, as the ships have been calling in hits. I couldn’t see any weapons, simply ladies and.